UAAP: L-Jay Gonzales delivers anew as FEU makes it back-to-back

FEU guard L-Jay Gonzales.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — L-Jay Gonzales shrugged off a bad fall to lead Far Eastern University past Adamson, 49-46, for its second straight win in the UAAP Season 86 men’s basketball tournament on Wednesday at Mall of Asia Arena.

The graduating point guard took a hard fall on the LED board after a missed layup attempt with the Tamaraws holding a slim 41-38 lead in the fourth quarter. He was subbed out with 4:17 remaining to get checked by their team staff.

After a few minutes, Gonzales returned and scored four of the Tamaraws’ last six points inside the final two minutes, including a pair of clutch free throws for a 47-43 cushion with 16.3 ticks to go, after the Falcons’ Vince Magbuhos tied the game at 43-all.

Two freebies from Royce Alforque followed by a crucial stop sealed the victory for FEU.

“I didn’t think of [the pain from my bad fall]. I wanted to win and we wanted to give our second win. We continued to do our job and defend our opponents until the end of the game,” said Gonzales in Filipino after leading the way for the Tams with 13 points and nine rebounds.

“All I wanted was to shoot the ball for my team. My mindset is to always shoot the ball because coach wanted me to take those shots or get a foul,” he added.

FEU’s Royce Alforque and Patrick Sleat celebrate ater the Tamaraws’ win.–MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Patrick Sleat also shone with 10 points for FEU (2-4), which came back from an 8-21 start, while Alforque added eight points and four assists.

“This kind of game is what our players need because they will gain experience from this one. We didn’t defend Adamson well in the first quarter but hats off to my players because they really worked hard defensively from the second to the fourth quarter,” said FEU coach Denok Miranda in Filipino.

Gonzales has been the hero for FEU since Saturday after he sank the clutch shots to beat Ateneo in overtime. The Tamaraws close out the first round against the winless University of Santo Tomas (0-6) on Sunday.

Adamson fell to a 3-3 record tied with Ateneo before facing the No.2 seed National University on Saturday at UST Quadricentennial Pavilion.

Joshua Yerro led the Falcons with 12 points, while Ced Manzano had nine points and 10 rebounds.

The Scores:

FEU (49) – Gonzales 13, Sleat 10, Alforque 8, Torres 6, Bautista 5, Bagunu 3, Faty 2, Ona 2, Tempra 0, Competente 0.

AdU (46) – Yerro 12, Manzano 9, Magbuhos 7, Sabandal 6, Calisay 4, Colonia 3, Ojarikre 2, Hanapi 2, Ramos 1, Montebon 0, Barasi 0, Erolon 0, Barcelona 0.

Quarterscores: 8-21, 22-27, 32-34, 49-46